Blue Passionvine / Passiflora caerulea. My latest acquisition, host for Gulf Fritillary butterflies and hardy to about z7. Invasive like all passiflora so I have it in a container and need to protect it on winter nights that are below 20F. Not that many nights in my area. Fragrant flower lasts for 1 day only like a daylily but still extremely exciting for me and for everyone else who sees it. A hot weather plant and, judging by the intense heat we are having in early June, a good choice for the hot summer to come. Thanks for asking, Rouge, fun to show off my new baby. Best, River

However, this doesn't stop ME from dragging innocent bystanders along and directing their unwilling gaze to whatever plant I consider needs showing off. This varies from day to day - it was the huge stand of 16 blackcurrant shrubs yesterday - they had been pruned within an inch of their lives, fed, and mulched (I usually only manage 2 out of 3 tasks) and consequently look stupendous (to my eyes).

rouge, campanula... You make it sound like, through subtle power of suggestion, you both cleverly trick someone into asking about a plant. I, on the other hand, am less subtle and my poor better half steps outside to "hey! look at this! isn't it great/cool/tall/beautiful/weird/crazy/interesting/etc" Ha ha but he's a good sport... for the most part.

I did get asked about my valerian, probably because of its huge size and wirey appearance

Considering 'davids' and 'campanulas' comments maybe we can broaden the discussion to include plants in your garden that you are...most proud of...a plant that you would want to show to a master gardener if they stopped by.

I have been asked about my clematis and the tall alliums like Mars, giganteum, Mt. Everest, or Globemaster. I live on a road that's busy at commute time, so the plants I am asked about tend to be ones that stand out when one is passing by in a vehicle. Folks walking, biking or riding horses tend to make comments about enjoying the garden, but don't often ask about particular plants.

Right now, I'm asked about Persicaria polymorpha and Astilboides tabularis, Omphalodes cappadoica 'Starry Eyes' , Rodgersia (can't remember which one it is) and the various alliums now in bloom.
Visitors will continue to ask about the persicaria for at least another month, but the focus will change soon as other plants come into bloom.
Usually, the omphalodes is done by now, but I had left two clumps buried under the leaves till now and the sunshine has brought them into late bloom.

At the end of my allotment, I have an enormous rose - R.moyesii, graceful (in my eyes) and and exuberant. It has the general health and vigour of many rose species. Although it is always late into leaf (and it can look terribly gaunt and forbidding in the winter, even a bit gothic), it has a tremendous show of crimson single flowers, the bees are driven crazy and then, at the other end of the year, the heps are plentiful and flagon shaped. I grow it behind a clump of Russian Sage and a dark leaved filbert (I used to have cercis 'Forest Pansy' till verticillium appeared on the allotment). The misty moist East Anglian low winter sun lights up the end of the allotment (and the end of my gardening year) - R.moyesii is a punctuation mark on my plot boundary (and is echoed at the other end with a huge ramping Scharlachglut hybrid gallica).

Ha - gardening gene - it passed me by (or failed to express itself), till I was in my late 30s....and then I was beguiled by an enormous lavatera. It took over the garden in one season and knowing nothing, I became convinced I had natural 'green fingers'. Yeah, right! The following plant deaths came thick and fast (rhodies, jasmines, gardenia - was I insane or just dumb?)- a war of attrition which I am still barely winning.

I live in the boonies, so not many passers-by to offer any ooohs and aaahs :-) But I am not too shy to admit that I can sometimes be awestruck myself by plants that I grow!
Right now, it is my honeybush, Melianthus major, that is in full bloom. Big, serrated, palmate leaves and tall spikes of waxy, mahogany red flowers that the hummingbirds love.

Have a photo on my phone but can only send with text, no downloads (darn!!) so I'm borrowing one.

I was asked practically about everything. Here people have the same 10-15 plants(if at all), and everything else is a big unknown to most people. I was asked about Delphinium (confused with Aconitum), Echium russicum, Azaleas, double Helianthus (confused with Dahlias), Echinacea Razzamatazz, Astrantias, Uvularia, Podophyllum, Eryngium, Veronicastrum, Centaurea atropurpurea,Smilacina,why my Crocosmia is so big(Lucifer) because theirs is only half that big(the small orange one). One person asked about Thalictrum aquilegifolium, and then said "looks like a weed". The comments to my persicarias at a plant market" they look like the weeds at the ditches" . Comments to my golden leaved hostas " why are they not green?" People think that bearded iris is always pale yellow, and sibirian iris is always blue(that's how you can tell the difference between the two).

I find that the plants that are crowd pleasers and often get asked about are more often than not very old-fashioned, some of them even simple wildflowers that carry a lot of nostalgia. This spring, I got a lot of inquiries about Mertensia virginica, Phlox divaricata, Geranium maculatum and Trillium grandiflorum. Also a huge number of comments about newly planted hellebores.

Right now, people are asking about the large globe alliums and the "giant plants with round buds" (Cephalaria gigantea). Crambe maritima also got a lot of attention.

My Lilium regale are forming big fat buds right now. Last year people adored them. So did I! :-)

When my Echium wildpretii (tower of jewels) send up a spike it always attracts attention. Next year, with luck, an Echium simplex should go into action too. My two succulent pots get comments, but especially when the Lotus berthelotii (parrot's bill) in them bloom.

No one ever sees the goodies growing in the back yard, though. So I point them out to my two adult sons; they don't care about the fantastic flowers, I'm sure, but they humor me. They don't have much choice... ;-)

People ask me about my Delosperma all the time. I have many cultivars of them and they are so bright from far away. I'm also surprised how many people ask about Heuchera. People also seem to like the Lady in Red and Ghost Fern.

People ask me about my Delosperma all the time. I have many cultivars of them and they are so bright from far away. I'm also surprised how many people ask about Heuchera. People also seem to like the Lady in Red and Ghost Fern.

marquest, that is a great little cactus garden. Surprising you can grow that in zone 5. Are those Optunia hardy cactus? I like the colors of the blossoms. You did say they are under cover? I suppose keeping them drier helps too. Very different!

No prairiemoon they are hardy, No cover. To the left is the walkway that leads to the mudroom. They are out in the open. They lay down in the winter and look dead. I snow and I throw the snow from that walkway on them when I shovel. When Spring arrives they sit up.

Thanks for the compliments. We love this plant. From the start to the end of blooming is almost a month.

Last year miclino this crazy large bush pulled away from the wall due to too much rain during bloom time! It was almost impossible to (temporarily) resecure it until the late fall with only the canes showing (no leaves) when I then used lengths of wire anchored to the brick to keep it upright.

I was honored recently to have my gardens as part of a local 'tour of gardens'. What a trip! We had nearly 200 people through in 4 hours. I was asked a lot of questions about various plants (often asked by multiple people at the same time). Here are the top few:

Polygonum cuspidatum 'Variegata' or Fallopia japonica 'Variegata' (Variegated Japanese Knotweed, False Bamboo) - In late Spring the foliage is white/cream with almost no green. Very striking and it really captured people's attention. There's so little clorophyll in the foliage that it remains a very restrained and well-behaved plant in my gardens. Which IÃ¢ÂÂm very grateful for, because it really is very beautiful. The non-variegated variety, however is a horrible thug.

Clematis Ã¢ÂÂRoguchiÃ¢ÂÂ - If youÃ¢ÂÂre not familiar with this one, do yourself a favor and google it to check out the images. ItÃ¢ÂÂs really cool. The purple/blue hanging bells are really quite charming, especially with their little slightly upturned petal tips. Cute, cute, cute.

Euphorbia characias 'Wulfenii' (Spurge) - It was already going to seed at the time of the tour, but it still looked quite striking and I couldnÃ¢ÂÂt bear to prune it back until after everyone was gone. IÃ¢ÂÂll pay for it later, but oh well. IÃ¢ÂÂve read that the form is very architectural and I suppose it is. But, I always think of it as my Dr. Seuss plant. :)

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' (Smokebush) Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" I have this one trained into a standard/tree form and the shiny new wine-colored foliage is quite striking.

Fallopia baldschuanica 'Lemon Lace' (Silver Lace Vine) Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" The foliage on this vine is such a lovely shade of chartreuse and the contrast of the pink/red stems is quite striking. Love this one. If you havenÃ¢ÂÂt seen it yet, definitely google it for the images. But be forewarned. ItÃ¢ÂÂll increase your Ã¢ÂÂGotta to Have ItÃ¢ÂÂ list.

What a beautiful Ooh-ahs rose! The color of the flowers looks especially nice against the bricks of your house.

---------------------------------------------------------
I fell for the charm of the Clematis Ã¢ÂÂRoguchiÃ¢ÂÂ this spring, and paid a hefty price because I feared not getting another chance to buy it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a mildew magnet in my area, and it has become quite ratty-looking. :( I still have to figure out where to plant it; ramble spots aren't part of my landscape area where we live now. And if the foliage is not going to help, it may end up in a hidden corner where only I visit. The coastal influence has been a problem with certain plants; I'm sure it would thrive 10-15 more miles inland. Steve, I would love to see a photo of yours, if you have one.